Collective Responsibility

 Ministers exercise real executive power; they are both individually and collectively
responsible for their actions in doing so.

 Collective responsibility, mentioned earlier, is provided for in Article 75(3).

o Incubated by British conventions over centuries, it stands for the idea that a council of
ministers is jointly responsible for the affairs of the government.

 Collective responsibility has several facets.

o First, ministers act as a common unit; cabinet decisions are binding on all ministers.
o Disagreements, if any, may be aired in private. Ministers, however, speak in one voice
and stand by one another in Parliament and in public. Those that cannot reconcile
themselves with government policies, or are unwilling to defend them in public, must
resign.
o Conversely, decisions of particular ministers, unless overruled, are decisions of the
government.
o However, Article 78 authorises the President to submit for the consideration of the
council of ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by an individual
minister. The Prime Minister, in such cases, must bring the matter before the council
of ministers.

 A council of ministers stands or falls together. They collectively command a majority

support in the legislative branch.
o As such, a no-confidence motion against the council of ministers is a motion against
all ministers.

o Prime ministerial resignation automatically dissolves the council of ministers;

separate resignations are unnecessary.

o A vote of no confidence against a particular minister may be regarded as a vote against

the entire council of ministers. This, however, depends on the circumstances of the
motion. Occasionally, the legislative branch may target a minister individually, without
reference to the council of ministers to which he or she belongs. In such instances, only
the minister is expected to resign [State of Karnataka v Union of India (1977)]

o Ministers in their individual capacities may also be judicially hauled up for their arbitrary
actions, provided they are motived by hostility.

Two kinds of executive powers are found in India's Constitution

 General Executive Powers

1. Article 73: it extends to matters 'with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws'.
2. It also extends 'to the exercise of such rights, authority and jurisdiction as are exercisable by the
Government of India by virtue of any treaty or agreement'.
3. The executive power of the States is outlined in Article 162: subject to the provisions of the
Constitution, it extends to 'matters with respect to which the Legislature of the State has power to
make laws'.
 4. The scope of executive power is defined with reference to the scope of legislative power; both the
Union and State executives may exercise executive power on matters over which their respective
legislatures are authorised to enact legislation.
5. The State's executive power is 'not confined to matters over which legislation has been passed
already'; rather, it extends to all matters on which legislation may be passed in future [Ram
Jawaya Kapoor]

This, however, is not a blank cheque; the exercise of unsanctioned executive power is cabined by some
exceptions.
1. Executive action cannot contravene the Constitution.
2. Executive action cannot infringe fundamental rights.
3. Executive action cannot contravene a statute or exceed powers conferred through it.
4. The executive can neither impose taxes nor spend money without legislative sanction.
5. Executive action cannot contravene statutory rules.

 Specific Executive Powers

The power to make appointments and the power to pardon are especially worth noting. The Constitution
creates many institutions and vests in the executive the authority to appoint their functionaries. Some of
these offices are political, others more independent.

Union executive appoints, for example, the Attorney General, the Comptroller and Auditor General,
members of the Union Public Service Commission, and members of the Election Commission. The
Constitution replicates some of these offices at the State level, and the State executive is authorised to make
similar appointments.

The other specific executive power is the power to grant pardons.

 The power may be invoked in three contexts

1. in cases where punishment and sentence is by a court martial
2. in cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence against any law which Parliament is
competent to enact
3. in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death

 Pardon is not a private act of grace. The power to grant is constitutionally reposed in the head
of the State and, therefore, constitutes a 'responsibility of great significance’.
 Rules of natural justice do not apply.

a. In making such decisions, the President enjoys discretion of the widest amplitude. He may re-
examine the facts of the cases, reassess the evidence, take into account newly disclosed information
if any, and fashion appropriate remedies keeping in mind the personal circumstances of those
pleading for mercy [Kehar Singh v Union of India (1989)

India's executive also enjoys legislative powers.

Delegated legislative powers-rule- making powers-are provided for in a variety of provisions.

1. The most important of these are provided for in Article 77(3): 'The President shall make rules for
the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India.
2. Known as the Rules of Business, these instruments allocate and define the zone of authority for
ministers and their subordinates. They have statutory force and are binding.

Other specific rule-making powers include the power to make rules for the joint sittings of the two Houses
of Parliament, rules regarding the conditions of service of government employees148 and rules regarding the
appointment of officials of various constitutional bodies.
The Constitution authorises the executive to exercise original legislative power; Presidents may promulgate
'ordinances' under Article 123

1. Ordinances are not by-laws, rules, orders, or delegated legislation of some other kind. They are
the equivalent of parliamentary legislation.
2. Two conditions must be met for the President to invoke Article 123.
 At least one House of Parliament must not be in session, and he must be satisfied that
'circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action'.
3. The satisfaction is of the council of ministers; that is how the provision has come to be understood
and practised. Ministers decide whether an ordinance is necessary and draft it; the President formally
promulgates it into law.
4. In a series of cases, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that Presidential satisfaction in
Article 123 is not subject to judicial review; it is 'purely subjective'.

India's executive also has modest judicial powers.

1. Aspirants to both Houses of Parliament must meet certain eligibility criteria; they are provided for in
Article 102. Article 103 empowers the President to adjudicate if persons who are already members
have fallen foul of these criteria.
2. In making these decisions, the President relies on the opinion of the Election Commission
3. The Election Commission acts in a quasi-judicial capacity and must, therefore, adhere to the
principles of natural justice.
4. The opinion of ECI is binding on president, but doen’t define time limit